Tins Bits' Capt.Calamari -- WOW!

[richarDISNEY]

Hell-0 y'all!

I was recently looking for some 28mm figs for my new pirate game (LotHS) and I was looking to hook into the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and somebody had a pic of Davey Jones and crew from a company called Tins Bits in Germany. ( www.tinsbits.com )  They were too good looking for me to pass up, and there were no reviews of the company or fig, I decided to risk a few bucks and give them a try... 

SO.... 

Last week I ordered Captain Calamari from Tins Bits in Berlin, Germany.  I had no problem with the paypal conversions (you have to ask for a paypal option so they can do international shipping). What they asked for shipping to California, USA, I thought it was very reasonable (less than 4 Euros).  That was my first suspicion that this may not be a good transaction, as most posters here tell me of outrageous shipping costs from Germany.  This got me nervous, but I was willing to take the risk, as I said, those figs were great looking...  And I am glad that I did!

Having shipped from Europe before, I was expecting a long wait for the figs.  Here comes my first WOW moment... The figs I had ordered showed up on my doorstop in LESS than a week!  WOW!  I have had some Europe/UK orders take up to 6 months!  Never 6 days!  That was fantastic!

Then I opened up the package and there the figs were.  And I have to say, after seeing them in hand, the figures are a sight to behold!  Really nice sculpts!  I went ahead and compared them to my Black Scorpion Crusader and Bronze Age minis.  They fit in really well with the Black Scorpions.  They don't seem too 'fat or thin', but well proportioned.  They are the 'Heroic 28', so about 28mm to the eyes, 32mm to the top of the head.

Captain Calamari --  Really great looking fig!  The way they got the tendrils to look on the coat is amazing.  They also added the octopus sac in the back of the head (which is right outta the movie) is a neat feature of the fig.  But really what stands out was the coat.  Its has little barnacles and starfish all over it. That was a neat little added touch to ALL the figs that really made the figs 'pop' when you see them for the first time.

Mr. Jaws  -- Again, in the same scale, so playing it with other 'heroic 28mms' will do nicely.  What I really liked about this fig was the weapon options!  You can either have him armed with a scattergun, or with a pistol and sword.  I liked the options that it gave me...

Mr. Lean Gustje  -- This was the most detailed figure out of the bunch!  Not only was the details that I had mentioned before (the barnacles and the starfish) but this fig is a true WOW in my book! You have different weapon options for the hand (a pistol or a sword) but the hat is an option also.  You can have the hat on or off.  The hat is cast by itself (not attached to a separate head), so all you have to do is glue the hat on.  But what you might miss from the photo on the Tins Bits webpage is the fact that he is some sort of lobster/crayfish character.  If you look between the legs, you will notice that he seems to have a lobster tail! That 'tail' runs all the way up the back of the figure.  And that his legs look like they were from a lobster also!  The detail and ingenuity of Kevin "TIN" Kosse (the sculptor for all the figs) was really a WOW in the sculpting business! 

So overall I would say WOW!!!  This was a great surprise all around!  Great looking figs, fast shipping, and at a price that I did not feel ripped off on!  And as I said, Kevin "TIN" Kosse is an amazing sculptor.  I will be looking for his work again.

I will be buying from them again as some of their modeled bases look great too, and now I have to wait for a re-stock!

In my opinion,  I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND buying from Tins Bits, and I will be buying from them again!

[Orctrader]

Link would be nice 

[richarDISNEY]

www.tinsbits.com

The link was earlier in the post, but here it is again!

[Rhoderic]

Not to stray off-topic, but I'm actually a bit surprised at comments like:

Having shipped from Europe before, I was expecting a long wait for the figs.

I can't speak for what it's like to order from Europe to the US, but from the US (or Canada) to here in Sweden, 7 days is standard fare in my experience. Any more than that, and I'll take it as an indication that the seller has been slower than most in putting the stuff in the post. At two weeks, I start to get suspicious, but then again I very rarely get to two weeks before an order arrives.

Is there some circumstance that makes shipping from Europe to the US slower than the other way around? Zealous customs officials or something? I wonder how many US hobbyists are needlessly missing out on good miniatures from fear of ordering from abroad?

Absolutely no disrespect meant to anyone. I'm merely speaking from the point of view of someone to whom ordering from abroad has become second nature, and who very rarely encounters any problems with it.

[richarDISNEY]

I have had good and really bad experiences with ordering from Europe.  Some take 2 weeks, and I have had some that have taken 6 months ( not exaggerating)with a lot of e-mails back and forth with excuses.  So I was hoping to see it in 2 weeks, but I got the package in 6 days! That is what I was trying to say.... 

I dont fear ordering abroad, its that I have to get my mind around that it may take a while for me to see the figs.

[Gluteus Maximus]

I've had similar experiences in ordering stuff from the USA. Some orders arrive quicker than ones placed on the same day from UK companies, whilst others take several weeks.

It can get quite frustrating waiting for stuff, but it's also a lovely surprise when something turns up that you've completely forgotten ordering!

I'm afraid it's just a fact of life when ordering from the other side of the world, but being an old fart, I can remember the days when ordering from across the Atlantic was virtually unheard of, so I can also put up with delays.

For some reason, however [I'm sure they will say it is due to the inherent superiority of their civilisation  ] the Aussies always seem to send stuff very quickly, even to a Pom 

[Overlord]

For some reason, however [I'm sure they will say it is due to the inherent superiority of their civilisation  ] the Aussies always seem to send stuff very quickly, even to a Pom 

.....or an inherent superior knowledge of tranportation! 

[Hitman]

I did the same thing...thanks to a post on this Forum...ordered the figures, and received them in about 1 week to Ontario, CANADA. My impressions were the same. Great figures, tons of detail, and they should be a lot of fun to paint. Kevin is great in providing information when sent a question, answers e-mails promptly; packages the product carefully and provides top notch service. He might be thinking about expanding the range, so get buying folks so he can regain some capital to re-invest in expanding this line.